Entain has entered into a partnership with the McLaren Racing Formula One team to launch a new scheme aimed at helping ignite the careers of women returning to roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Now open to applications, ‘Returnship’ will create an initial 10 places for opportunities and experience at either Entain or the McLaren over a six-month period.
The scheme is designed to support women at different stages in their career, with successful candidates to benefit from a one-to-one transitional coach specialising in returning to work, flexible working, networking with senior executives, and an opportunity to discuss more permanent role opportunities after the program.
Placement roles include software engineers, back-end developers, data scientists and design engineers. Candidates must have been unemployed, underemployed or reskilling for three months, at least two years’ prior professional experience, and hold either STEM-focused qualifications or have experience or a passion for technology, data or engineering.
The new program comes after a recent study by STEM Women found that just 26% of STEM graduates are women and 24% of the STEM workforce is female.
In terms of the link for Entain, the group said its own research showed 26% of sports bettors around the world are female, while a study by F1 showed 40% of fans are women.
The scheme will run alongside Entain’s existing Reboot@Ivy initiative, which helps women return to technology careers at its locations in Hyderabad in India and the Filipino capital of Manila.
In addition, the EnTrain program is designed to increase access to education and training in technology and improve diversity, with the aim of positively impacted the lives of over one million people by 2030.
“The fusion of technology, sport and entertainment, and desire to support talented women re-entering the workforce meant that launching this brand-new programme with our partner, McLaren, is an obvious step,” Entain chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said.
“We share a passion and commitment for giving women a platform to reignite their careers in STEM and hope that through this programme, we not only support a generation of ambitious women now but inspire future generations of girls to land their dream STEM role.”
The launch also comes after Formula 1 last month announced an all-female racing series for younger drivers in its F1 Academy.
McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown added: “This is an opportunity to drive real change within the engineering and technology industries and is part of our overall commitment to making STEM careers more accessible to all, and to having 40% of our employees from under-represented backgrounds by 2030.”
